England and Scotland drawn together in Women’s Nations League

By Sports Desk May 02, 2023

England and Scotland will meet in the inaugural UEFA Women’s Nations League.

The nations met at the 2019 World Cup in France when goals from Nikita Parris and Ellen White gave England a 2-1 victory, with Claire Emslie replying for Scotland.

The Nations League draw in Nyon saw Netherlands and Belgium join European champions England and Scotland in League A1 .

England’s Dutch manager Sarina Wiegman will come up against her native country when the competition kicks off.

Wales were drawn in League A3 alongside Germany, Denmark and Iceland.

Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland were paired in League B1 with Hungary and Albania.

The competition will be played in a similar format to the men’s Nations League with the 51 competing nations divided into two leagues of 16 and one of 19.

The four League A winners will progress to the finals, which will also act as Europe’s 2024 Olympic qualifiers.

There will also be promotion and relegation between the leagues ahead of the start of qualifying matches for the 2025 European Championship.

Games across all three leagues will be played in September, October and November with the finals held in February 2024.

Related items

  • Denmark appoint Riemer as full-time Hjulmand successor Denmark appoint Riemer as full-time Hjulmand successor

    Denmark have appointed Brian Riemer as their new head coach after Kasper Hjulmand stepped down in the aftermath of their Euro 2024 exit in July.

    Riemer served in a variety of coaching roles with Copenhagen before joining Brentford as an assistant to Thomas Frank in 2018, leaving to take the top job at Anderlecht four years later.

    He oversaw a third-place finish in the Belgian Pro League last season before being relieved of his duties, but he will now take over from interim Denmark coach Lars Knudsen, who oversaw a return of seven points from their first four matches in Nations League Group A4.

    "With Brian Riemer, we get a coach with the energy, passion and great commitment that we have been looking for," DBU football director Peter Moller said in a statement. 

    "He shares our view of football about trying to dominate matches and playing attacking and technical football."

    Denmark, who reached the semi-finals of Euro 2020, suffered a disappointing group-stage exit at the 2022 World Cup before being eliminated by Germany in the last 16 at Euro 2024.

    "Becoming the national coach for Denmark is a big dream that is coming true, and I am enormously proud and honoured. At the same time, I feel completely ready for the task and am extremely motivated," Riemer said.

    "I will give everything for this fantastic team and country, and together with the players, the staff and all the Danish fans, we will fight to achieve something great together."

  • Tuchel confirmed as new England boss Tuchel confirmed as new England boss

    Thomas Tuchel has been confirmed as the new England boss, the Football Association announced on Wednesday.

    Tuchel had been out of work since leaving Bayern Munich at the end of last season but will now become the 16th permanent manager to take charge of England.

    The German becomes the first non-English boss to lead the Three Lions since Fabio Capello in 2012, and only the third overall, following the Italian and Sven-Goran Eriksson.

    In a statement released by the Football Association, Tuchel said: "I am very proud to have been given the honour of leading the England team. 

    "I have long felt a personal connection to the game in this country, and it has given me some incredible moments already. 

    "To have the chance to represent England is a huge privilege, and the opportunity to work with this special and talented group of players is very exciting. 

    "Working closely with Anthony [Barry] as my assistant coach, we will do everything we can to make England successful and the supporters proud. I want to thank the FA for their trust and I am looking forward to starting our journey together."

    Lee Carsley had taken interim charge of England following Gareth Southgate's resignation after the 2-1 defeat to Spain in the Euro 2024 final.

    Carsley has won three of his four games in charge and will remain in place for England's final two Nations League matches against Greece and the Republic of Ireland in November, with Tuchel taking the reins from January 1, assisted by his former Chelsea and Bayern number two Anthony Barry.

    Carsley did, however, come under scrutiny after a dismal performance against Greece on October 10, with the Three Lions losing 2-1 at Wembley.

    Carsley acknowledged England needed a "world-class coach" who had won silverware, and that is what Tuchel brings to the table.

    Tuchel has managed 578 games across his club career, winning 331 (D114 L133), registering a win percentage of 57.3%.

    After replacing Jurgen Klopp at Borussia Dortmund, Tuchel enjoyed a hugely successful spell with Paris Saint-Germain between 2018 and 2020, winning two Ligue 1 titles among his six major honours, and overseeing a win ratio of 74.8% in all competitions.

    He subsequently joined Chelsea, leading the Blues to Champions League glory in 2021.

    In doing so, he became the first coach to reach consecutive European finals with two different clubs, having guided PSG to their first Champions League showpiece the previous campaign.

    He departed Stamford Bridge in 2022, having won 60 of his 100 games in charge (D24 L16), with his win percentage (60%) the fourth-highest of any Chelsea boss who managed at least 100 games.

    Tuchel then joined Bayern midway through the 2022-23 season, helping them to their 11th consecutive Bundesliga crown before being replaced by Vincent Kompany after finishing third last term.

    But Tuchel's next assignment could be his most difficult yet, with England looking to end their long wait for an international trophy, having last succeeded at the 1966 World Cup.

    The 51-year-old also faces a tough act to follow in Southgate, who won 61 of his 102 matches in charge with the Three Lions.

    Southgate's 14 wins at major tournaments are the most of any manager in England's history, while they reached more finals (two) in four attempts than they did in their first 23 appearances at the World Cup and Euros.

    Only Walter Winterbottom (78) and Alf Ramsey (69) managed more wins than Southgate, while he became only the third England manager to reach 100 games in charge.

  • Portugal lacked 'a little bit of magic' in Scotland stalemate, says Martinez Portugal lacked 'a little bit of magic' in Scotland stalemate, says Martinez

    Portugal manager Roberto Martinez was in a defensive mood following his team's goalless draw away to Scotland in the Nations League on Tuesday night. 

    After scoring in each of the Spaniard's first 12 competitive matches in charge of Portugal, the Selecao have since drawn a blank in four of their last seven matches. 

    Portugal did have their chances, however, registering 14 shots during the contest, though only three were on target, ending the night with an expected goals (xG) total of 1.52.

    Martinez faced criticism for lacking a plan B after his side struggled to break the Scots down.

    "Our talent of our players, is plan A, B, C, D, E," he told De Sporto after the match.

    "We have players inside, outside, we are talking about a team that did not take risks, that defended very well.

    "We are talking about a team [Portugal] that reached 53 times in the last third. We have to give credit to Scotland and to us the fact that we managed to keep a clean sheet."

    It was a frustrating night for Martinez and fans alike.

    Despite Cristiano Ronaldo, Bruno Fernandes and Diogo Jota among other big hitters starting, they were unable to find a way past 41-year-old goalkeeper Craig Gordon, who made some impressive saves when they did get in on goal.

    When asked what was missing from the performance, he alluded to a lack of individual quality.

    "A decision, a little bit of magic in the area. We had a lot of desire, we worked very well without the ball," Martinez said.

    "It was a dangerous game because we could have possession of the ball, but Scotland have little need to score a goal. We showed freshness, but we lacked freshness in the last third.

    "You also have to give credit to Scotland, they had a lot of players in front of goal, their goalkeeper also made a spectacular save."

    Following the performance and result at Hampden Park, there have been further questions about Martinez's selection policy for Portugal.

    The most high-profile query of all remains whether 39-year-old Ronaldo should continue, having had a difficult night on his 200th start for his country.

    "The national team always has an open door, but now we are talking about a very, very large group of players," said Martinez.

    "It is a question of continuing to connect and synchronise what we can do. Now the game in Porto is to celebrate qualification in front of our fans."

    Scotland manager Steve Clarke, meanwhile, was much happier with the evening's result, which ended a four-game losing run for Scotland.

    "It's not about turning a corner, it's just about working hard and not letting the country down. You could see that tonight," he said.

    "The point was important for us after the work the group put in to get off the mark."

    The result also marked Scotland's first clean sheet since beating Gibraltar 2-0 seven games ago in a pre-Euro 2024 warm-up friendly.

    The performance at the back was another thing that pleased Clarke.

    "Defensively sound, the shape of the team was good," he said. 

    "We denied a lot of space in behind. Good concentration in the box, determined defending at times, some really good blocks, which you need against sides like Portugal.

    "Everyone contributed to earn the point."

    Despite taking an unexpected point, Scotland are still bottom of their Nations League group, while the draw means they are winless in 10 matches - their longest ever run.

    But Clarke feels the players will take a lot from Tuesday's match that will help them going forward.

    "Everyone keeps talking about confidence, but they know they can play well," he said. 

    "We maybe didn't play as well as we could on the ball, which could be down to fatigue. But I don't think they lack confidence. Tonight's point will give us more confidence."

© 2024 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.